Because of approaching weather we left Salcombe and skipped Falmouth in our program in order to get there earlier. This to be able to visit all items scheduled as we needed to cut the visit short due to approaching 35 knot westerlies and with it 4-5m seas. We arrived by 0730hrs in the morning and the pilot had us plonk the anchor down in Crow sound, well sheltered spot from the westerlies on the east side.
Fallen trees on St Mary's after last storm
One could easily see fallen trees from a previous storm that had felled several trees. The strata on the ground is not very thick so I guess they fall easily given a strong severe gale. The water is clear and the flora is very rugged, lots of succulents, heather and bushes interspersed with palm trees that look like yucca plants. I did not look closer so maybe they were. As the pilot disembarks, our Agent, Tom, comes onboard from the pilot boat.
Sky was pretty thin
We greet each other and wait for the local tender to arrive in order to test moor how it best would work to transfer guests. We try the gangway but it turns out it is better to do it via the stern swim platform (I told you so). Fenders are rigged and James settles off to wait for guests to disembark for Tresco Island.
Scilly Isles
Tom informs me the Scillies rarely, if ever, have temperatures going under zero so that is why they have flora that survives here but not on the British mainland. There are a total of 140 islands but many of them are pretty small, the largest ones are St Mary's, Tresco and St Martin's, followed by St Agnes and Bryher, that are all over one square kilometer, the rest are less than 1 sq.km. He's a born and bred Scillonian and has also been an engineer on ships before becoming ships agent. He further tells me that there is only about 2500 people on the Scillies of which 1500 are on St Mary's where the 'city' is. The surrounding 4 largest islands consist of the remaining 1000 persons and are quite small communities.
Scillonian III
As we dropped guests off to Tresco island I had to get to St Mary's to pick up some provisions. The pilot already warned me that the fresh food is in short supply due to technical issues with their supplying cargo vessel. I could see in port the old old lady 'Scillonian III', a 67m long cargo/ passenger ferry, built in 1977 by Appledore, North Devon. She's also one of the last Royal mail ships still in operation, plying her line between Hugh Town and Penzance. I had been told by the pilot that she's to be replaced by a Vietnamese newbuild this year or the coming one. The same applies to the cargo vessel, m/v Gry Maritha, an old Norwegian build.
Scillonian III
Scillonian III
Scillonian III
Hugh Town
Hugh Town
Hugh Town
Hugh Town
I get ashore and clamber up the steps of the jetty where Scillonian is alongside, the jetty is quite high, most likely catering for extreme spring tides. As I walk off into town it is low tide and I can see boats just sitting on the seabottom. Easy maintenance time if one needs to see something done below waterline. In Hugh Town some venues are closed due to ripped off roofing, apparently the last storm did other damage than fallen trees and people are waiting for the cargo ships to bring in materials. I walk a short distance in and go to a pub for a quick lunch and then I head for the Co-op to try and find my provisions.
St Mary's pool
I get what I need, albeit a lot of the fresh stuff is gone, and also find in a nearby newsagents a couple of fridge magnets to take home. Then I call my ride to pick me up and I venture to the jetty. There I watch 2 crab boats going about their business, probably preparing to go out to sea or some maintenance. On the opposite side is a pretty RNLI lifeboat ramp (I presume). I see my boat approaching and I jump onboard to go back via Tresco, we're picking up some guests luggage that arrived by helicopter. The open reach on the west side is already quite choppy and I can see why we're anchored off Crow sound.
Crab boats
RNLI lifeboat ramp
I get back onboard and wait for guests to return, later I spot the Scillonian III steaming past us with her Mirrlees 'blacksmokes' happily puttering away and propelling her towards her destination, Penzance. She has soon one more trip less until she'll be disposed of. Soon enough our guests return and I see everything is going well and I turn in for the next day.
Scillonian III
Scilly Isles
The next day is sunny and light, everyone is happy. Some guests head again over to Tresco for a walk before going to St Martin's for lunch at Karma hotel. I follow the guests to St Martin's to get a walk in for myself, as they head in the restaurant I set off along the only road they have on the Island, first stop is at a local silversmith's shop. It looks very quaint and the lady making her jewellery is very friendly but I don't see anything I like so I'm again on the road.
Scilly Isles
Scilly Isles
Scilly Isles
Mosaique
Mosaique
Scilly Isles
Scilly Isles
After some minutes I am so hot I have to take my peacoat off. I walk past a reading room, then a church. Soon I come to a large intersection and a road leads right to the northern jetty they have at the Higher Town but I can't be bothered venturing down the hill so I walk over to the bakery but I find it is closed, I guess summertime has not started for them yet. Oh well, time to head back then as I've been going for awhile now and don't want to be late in case the guests are ready. I turn around and head back the way I came from.
Silversmith in St Martin
St Martin views
Another thing I've learned is that Scilly Islands are famous for their various flowers, especially daffodils. I spot several different flowers in full bloom so I guess they sell some to the mainland. I also walk by old glasshouses but they appear not to be in use. The houses in general are sturdy and made of stone. Probably best with the Atlantic weather sweeping down every now and then.
Flowers
Flowers
Flowers
St Martin views
St Martin, Supermans changing room
St Martin views
St Martin views, bench and cannon
St Martin views, higher town
Scilly Isles
View over St Martin
Flora next to bakery
Scilly Isles
St Martin cows
St Martin anglican church and boothill
Soon I pass the church again and as I reach the reading room I turn right and take the dirt road leading to Karma hotel on the 'outer' seaside. I pass some cows and go through a small patch of dense pine trees and then it is just heathers and the path, the views are very photogenic and as the sun is shining I get a few nice shots, see below. The wind is stronger here so I have to put on my peacoat and keep warm, can't be sporty with the cold weather.
Scilly Isles
St Martin pine forest
Scilly Isles
Scilly Isles
Scilly Isles
Scilly Isles
Sun worshipper out in the yard
I find my way easily to the end of the island I left from and I walk up to the Seven stones pub and order a 0% Heineken to quench my thirst. I soon see our Agent Tom and we chat awhile as the guests are still not yet finished. The weather is fantastically warm as the sun shines down and the wind is not too strong on the lee side. As I finish my beer, we walk down to see how the party is going on. We soon decide to send me back while we can from the Karma jetty as the high tide soon makes it unusable, it goes underwater. Some of the guests follow me whilst a few stragglers are coming later.
Seven stones pub
Seven stones pub
Seven stones pub
The many Scilly Isles
HMS Association model
At Karma they displayed a large model of HMS Association, according to the infogram she was built in 1697 and she was shipwrecked with 3 others off the Gilstone reef, Scilly Isles in bad weather (and poor navigation) in 1707. Nearly 2000 men perished with that incident and remains one of the Royal Navy's most painful blunders. This resulted in the Admiralty to instigate a competition of how to find a method to determine longitude more accurately. It is sad that people always need to die before improvements are made.
HMS Association model
HMS Association model
Karma beach
St Martin jetty at high tide at lower town
Soon enough I was onboard and we started making ready for sea. The pilot came on time and so did my stragglers and we weighed anchor at the planned time. Soon we were steaming East towards Fowey. Not much traffic was was going on in the separation scheme between Scilly and the UK mainland, as the sun set we passed the Wolf Rock lighthouse.
Passing traffic, m/v Azebi on her way to Spain
As we sailed on I saw on the chart plotter close to our course a marked historic wreck (one of dozens) of U-1018 that torpedoed SS Corvus. The submarine had on 27th February 1945 attacked a convoy and sunk SS Corvus after which the defending frigate, HMS Loch Fada, launched into a heavy counterattack and sunk the attackers at same position. Nevertheless, the sea divulges nothing and only in records we can find out it was the scene of violence many years ago where people lost their lives. As I navigate towards Fowey the winds pick up as forecasted and we're surfing on a fresh 22 knot southwesterly breeze...
Wolf Rock light house
Clusters of wrecks only off Cornwall
(credit: wreckfinder.co.uk)
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